Sickle bar mower

Sun Jul 03, 2005 7:34 pm

My wife tells me that I need to get (I know, can you believe it) a sickle bar mower for my Cub Cadet 73. Were these style mowers available for a 73? If so, are they readlily available and what would I expect to pay for one? Are any other options necessary to run this mower? I just have the bare bones tractor and a 38-1 belly mower. Thanks for the help

Sun Jul 03, 2005 8:22 pm

Haban made them for garden tractors, and are about the only brand that you see for sale. A good, complete one will cost in the $400-500 range, and because they were built for various brands of garden tractors, you need to insure one you may find will fit your model Cub Cadet. The basic mower is the same, but mounting brackets and hardware will vary between models/makes. I am not sure which model your would need, but 402 D or E comes to mind, but don't take my word for that. They can be found on epay sometimes, and on sites that have garden tractor classified ads.

Fer instance, what is the required PTO speed and direction? I really would like to find one to mount behind Ellie or Granny. Be useful around here - save me buying wood chips for mulch

Mon Jul 04, 2005 5:02 pm

Rudi,
It is not heavy enough to do much wood grinding/chipping. It is a 59M Shredder-Grinder, has IH name on it , but was built by AMERIND-MacKISSIC INC, Parker Ford, PA. It is good for leaves, grass clippings, light brush (one ad says up to 1-1/2" but people I know that have one say no), weeds, plant stalks, table scraps, wastepaper, etc. It is driven by the front engine PTO which runs at engine speed (up to 3600 RPM) but that is changed some by the pulley sizes of the PTO and the unit. It has 24 steel knives, and is primarily for pulverizing the above into an organic mulch.